Baby's First Thanksgiving...

For your first Thanksgiving, we joined the rest of the Johnson family in Destin, Florida for some fun in the sun. Grandpa and Grandma booked each family a suite at the Beach Street Cottages for a week and we got to relax and enjoy each other's company. We have so, so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Most of all, for our sweet, precious, giggly little Avery.

We arrived late on Friday night, and the next morning we hit the beach! Your first time to see the Gulf of Mexico...

(Grandma always tries to keep her grandbabies warm!)

We opened our Christmas presents...you had some help from Mommy, Daddy and your cousins. You received a lot of neat gifts! Silas gave you a fish puzzle, Daphne gave you a toy guitar, and your baby cousin Abel gave you a cute green and brown outfit. What sweet cousins! Grandpa and Grandma gave you the cutest Christmas outfit - a reindeer shirt, jeans with a red ribbon bow, a red snowflake sweater and socks to match! They also got you a pink Nike jersey and pant set with a matching pink cap. And two other adorable winter hats. Plus lots of fun stuff in your stocking - like Yogurt Melt snacks that you love!

We had a delicious Thanksgiving meal with all the fixings. You enjoyed your Gerber Turkey Dinner in a jar!

The rest of the week, we went shopping, went out to eat for seafood, played some Trivial Pursuit (the women almost won!), celebrated Aunt Emily's birthday and played on the beach. Aunt Emily took some great pictures of the family on the beach. A wonderful way to spend Thanksgiving with our loved ones!

Nine Months Old!

Avery, you are nine months old now and you keep getting cuter and sweeter every day. If this continues, your dad and I might just explode.

You are an adventurous little girl, afraid of nothing (...except for public restrooms and the end of a meal). You are crawling now - and fast - so I spend my days trying to corral you and keep you from eating whatever you find on the floor. You think it's hilarious when I dig in your mouth to retrieve these foreign objects.

You were also humored by my first attempt at discipline. We went round and round with you reaching for the wall outlet, me smacking your hand and telling you, "No, No" and you throwing your head back laughing. Of course, when the message finally translated, you cried and broke both our hearts.

You say "mama", "dada" and "hi" (with a silent "h"). You have perfected your wave, and you love to wave to the folks at church and Wal-Mart, mommy and daddy, every room you enter, your bed, etc. We are working on teaching you the sign language for "more" and you use it selectively. We may regret this in the future, given your voracious appetite! You make the "m" sound for more, and other sounds like "enuh" (?), "oooo" (very cute) and miscellaneous babbling. You squeal and/or grunt when you are excited. You are so active and full of curiosity.

You visited your new pediatrician, Dr. Feit, on the day after your nine-month birthday. He said you were growing wonderfully and looked perfect. You had a ball crawling around on the exam table. You weighed 18 pounds 2 ounces and measured 27 1/2 inches long. You are in the 50th percentile all around. You got two shots and didn't even cry for the first one. You are a tough little one.

Some other things about you at this age:

You Love: ALL food but especially green beans, bananas, fresh pears and oatmeal; playing with Levi and Lydia; watching people and being social; pulling up to stand - you think you are such a big girl; your pacifier; laughing at your bottle when you're done with it; bath time; mommy's hair dryer; when Daddy carries you like a sack of potatoes; Patty-Cake; kisses on your tummy; seeing yourself in the mirror; shopping; Skyping with your Grandparents; giving us sweet pats on the back (which we love, too!); giggling and being silly.

You Don't Like: Having your feet touched (ticklish!); mommy brushing your hair (because it gets so tangled!); being still; when we use the bulb syringe to clear your nose out (man, you hate that); when diaper changes interfere with play time; sleeping in (could you work on that?); the absence of food.

Halloween: Elvis, Baby!

Avery doing her best Elvis impersonation...

Watch out, Mama got a new sewing machine for her birthday, and you're the first victim!

We got you all moussed up and went to Trunk or Treat at Buford Church of Christ. You loved all of the decorated trunks - especially those with lights! And everyone loved seeing the Miniature King of Rock!